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Saturday, June 29, 2013

The New York Yankees were unable to
start their series against the division rival Baltimore Orioles on a
good note losing 4-3. The loss moves the Yankees to (42-37) on the
season, and are now 5.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for first
place in the AL East.

The offense for the Yankees got to T.J
McFarland early to chase him out of the game after just going 2.2
innings. McFarland gave up three runs on seven hits, and one walk
before his early exit. Robinson Cano got the Yankees on the board in
the first inning with an RBI base hit that scored Brett Gardner, who
was on base after a lead off double. The Yankees would knock
McFarland out of the game before finishing the third inning, as
Vernon Wells had a RBI base hit which scored Jayson Nix, and then
Chris Stewart had a RBI base hit that scored Robinson Cano. The third
inning however would be the last time the Yankees scored on Friday
night.

Friday, June 28, 2013

The NBA Draft Thursday was as wild as people were expecting as there were trades were flying all night. Some teams did better than others tonight in a draft that was tough to navigate with no consensus number one pick, leading to surprises right from the first pick through the 60th. This is also the last draft that David Stern will be conducting as commissioner, as he is stepping down February 1st, 2014. Here are the grades for each team with the players that they ended up with at the end of the night.

With the
NBA Draft complete there are some surprising names still available for teams to
pick up as undrafted free agents. Some are players coming from smaller
colleges, while others were once hotshot prospects that have since fallen out
of favor with NBA teams. It will be tough to stick in the NBA as an undrafted
free agent, much like a second round pick, but they do have an advantage that
second round picks don’t; they will be able to choose which team they want to try
out and play for. Here is the best of the rest remaining players that were not
drafted.

By Ryan McDonald(@RonnieMac90)After the first round of the NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics have agreed in principle to a trade that sends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn according to Yahoo Sports.What the Nets Give UpGerald WallaceTornike Shengelia Kris Humphries Reggie EvansKeith BogansKris Joeseph2014 1st Round Pick2016 1st Round Pick2018 1st Round PickWhat the Nets GetKevin GarnettPaul PierceJason TerryA major deal that required Kevin Garnett to waive his no trade clause, which he did late Thursday night. This is has put the Celtics in full rebuilding mode, and expect them to trade Rajon Rondo later in the year as well. For the Nets though, giving up 3 1st round picks for three aging players? Pierce and Terry are both 35 and Garnett is 37 years old. However, all picks are expected to be non-lottery, which means they’re not as valuable as they would appear. So it’s not as bad as a negative as some are making it out to be. Then we have the actual players that we gave up and their replacements. Is Kevin Garnett, even at his age, an upgrade over Reggie Evans, who started at power forward for most of the year for the Nets? Absolutely, a huge upgrade. Garnett is a better passer, a better defender, and of course, a better offensive player. Garnett has a great jump shot which will space the floor and allow Lopez to be much more effective than when he was paired with Evans. Garnett also brings the intangibles, he’s a natural born leader and has always been. He plays with maximum effort all the time, which not saying Evans didn’t, but some of this roster needs to start doing more often. Next up is Paul Pierce replacing Gerald Wallace. Again, Pierce is a much better shooter than Wallace, so he’ll space the floor much better. However, Wallace is the better defender. The Nets will miss Wallace on defense and rebounding, but in scoring and passing, Pierce is superior. It’ll be interesting to see however who the Nets put on the oppositions best perimeter player, which was normally Wallace. Pierce at this point is a bit of a liability on defense, as is Joe Johnson, but hopefully Garnett will help protect the rim and Lopez will continue to develop his shot blocking to make up for Johnson and Pierce’s poor defense.Jason Terry will most likely assume the role as Deron Williams’ back up and replace CJ Watson who will be lost to free agency. Again, the Nets lose perimeter defense, as Terry has difficulties on defense. But Terry is known for his big shot making, and can shoot off the dribble extremely well still. The starting line up will be projected to be Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Brook Lopez. With Terry, MarShon Brooks, Mirza Teletovic, and Mason Plumlee off the bench. With the addition of such aging players, it’s clear that the Nets have Championship or bust for the 2013-2014 NBA season. This means even MORE expectations for rookie head coach Jason Kidd. Already under what was called unrealistic expectations, Kidd will be expected to deliver a Championship this upcoming season. This could end with a short run of Kidd as the Nets’ head coach say the Nets lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs which could easily happen. If they don’t win a championship this upcoming season, the future is bleak. Terry, Garnett, Pierce, will all be another year older, and their play has already significantly downgraded. As well as Joe Johnson, who seems to have hit and past his prime already. Pierce’s contract expires after the 2013/2014 season, but Garnett’s and Terry’s do not expire till after the 2015/2016 season. Even with Pierce’s expiring contract, the Nets’ payroll will be roughly $84,000,000. Meaning they won’t be able to do anything in terms of free agency. After the 2015/2016, again, the Nets’ payroll will still be $62,000,000, tied up in Lopez, Johnson, and Williams. This means that after this crucial 2013/2014 season, the Nets will not be bad enough to get the few 1st round picks they have left to be lottery picks, but they won’t be good enough to contend for a championship. Even so, I still think this was a good trade for the Nets. The Nets as constructed with Gerald Wallace, would not contend for a Championship anyway, and they still wouldn’t be bad enough to get into the lottery. The Nets are trading away the next 3 years of being a 4-8 seed in the East, for a shot at being a 1-3 seed and a shot at the NBA Finals. The trade makes them a better team for this year, and that’s all we can really ask for. They aren’t the favorites to win it all, but they’ve certainly gotten better, and anything can happen.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

By Ryan McDonald(@RonnieMac90)With the 22nd overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft the Brooklyn Nets selected Mason Plumlee. Plumlee is a 6’-11” 23 year old from Duke University.Strengths- Plumlee brings great energy to a team that seemed to lack it against the Bulls in the playoffs. Along with his athleticism, Plumlee can finish explosively at the rim. Plumlee will also be a good rebounder for the Nets.Weaknesses- Unfortunately, Plumlee doesn’t have much of a post game and his mid-range jumper can only be called decent. He won’t space the floor if paired with Lopez like say Blatche did for the Nets this past season.How He Fits- Plumlee will most likely fill in for Andray Blatche who is a free agent as the back up center to Lopez. But don’t look for Lopez and Plumlee to be on the court together like Blatche and Lopez were seen doing, mostly in the playoffs. Plumlee doesn’t space the floor as well as Blatche, and doesn’t have much of an offensive game. Overall, it’s a decent pick for the Nets given the spot they were in. With their starting five intact for the most part, rotational players is what they needed to draft and Plumlee can give the Nets 8-14 minutes a game.

The New York Yankees finished up their
series with the Texas Rangers in very disappointing fashion, as they
were shutout by the Rangers in the rubber game of the series. The
loss moves the Yankees to (42-36) on the season, and are now in third
place in the AL East four games behind the Boston Red Sox.

Phil Hughes was figured to be pitching
for his spot in the rotation in this game, and actually came thru
with a really solid start, but with zero run support he picked up his
seventh loss of the season. Hughes went eight innings allowing just
two runs on five hits, one walk, and he struck out five batters. The
Rangers first run off Hughes came in the third inning, as Ian Kinsler
hit a sac-fly to Left Field which scored Jurickson Profar. Profar
would also score the second run of the game in the fifth inning, as
he hit a solo-home run, for his third of the year off Hughes.

The New York Yankee were unable to keep
up their momentum from a big walk-off win on Tuesday, as the Texas
Rangers got revenge against the Yankees with a 8-5 win on Wednesday
night. The loss moves the Yankees to (42-35) on the season, which is
3.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Justin Grimm got the start for the
Rangers, and even though he had a mediocre start, the run support was
enough to give him his seventh win of the season. Grimm went just
five innings allowing three runs on six hits. Lyle Overbay got the
first run of the game off Grimm in the second inning, as he hit his
ninth home run of the season, which was a welcomed site with the news
that Mark Teixeira is out for the season. After allowing and infield
single to Brett Gardner and then a double by Ichiro Suzuki, Grimm was
pulled for Robbie Ross, who allowed both those runners to score on a
singles by Robinson Cano and Travis Hafner.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The New
York Yankees suffered another big injury loss on Thursday afternoon, as a MRI
revealed a torn tendon sheath in his right wrist, which will require surgery
and end Mark Teixeira's season. Teixeira originally hurt the wrist on March 5thpreparing for the World Baseball
Classic, and it cost him to miss the first 53 games of the season. He did
however get on the field for the Yankees for a short period of time, but in 15
games he hit just .151. Teixeira did have three home runs and 12 RBIs before
being shut down again to get a cortisone shot to see if the wrist would feel
better, which it did not.

The NBA Draft is being held Thursday
night and there is still tons of speculation flying as to where players will
land. There are rumors about which teams want which players and some teams
trying to trade up in the order. There aren’t any superstars according to
scouts in this draft but the depth is deep as rotation players can be found
throughout the top 35 picks. After focusing on some sleepers and players that
could be busts, here is a look at some players that look like sure things in a
draft void of them.

The New York Yankees were able to get a
walk-off victory against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night thanks to
Ichiro Suzuki. The 4-3 Yankees win moves them to (42-34) on the
season, and are back in second place in the AL East 2.5 games behind
the Boston Red Sox.

Hiroki Kuroda was pretty solid against
a talented Rangers lineup, but despite pitching well didn’t earn
himself a decision. The Rangers struck first in this game in the
third inning, as Leonys Martin hit a solo-home run in the third
inning, which was his first of the season. In the fourth inning the
Rangers would get one more run, on a Mitch Moreland RBI ground out
with the bases loaded that scored Adrian Beltre. Martin would get the
best of Kuroda again in the fifth inning with another solo-home run,
which was the final run Kuroda would give up. Kuroda finished going
6.2 innings allowing three runs, two of which were earned, on five
hits, one walk, and struck out six batters.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The NBA has been attempting to build their
product around the world by playing some exhibition games around the globe in
recent seasons. This past season the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons played
in London in front of a sold-out frenzy crowd. The NBA has a lot of events in
China as well with the help of Yao Ming to help gain exposure there as well.

The NBA will continue having teams play
abroad and will be adding another location for the 2013-2014. The Atlanta Hawks
and Brooklyn Nets will play a regular-season game at the O2 Arena in London
January 16th as part of the NBA Global Games London 2014.

The NBA Draft is set to take place June
27th and is quickly approaching as it is right around the corner.
Here are some players that may not be lottery picks but have been turning some
heads in NBA circles at tryouts and workouts. These are players that with some
luck could find themselves sneaking into the second round to be picked or even
moving up to the end of the first round. It is all about finding value and
diamonds in the rough as the draft moves on and these players fit that bill.

With the NBA Draft just days away the
speculation is flying as to where players are going to land. This draft is void
of any superstars or cornerstone franchise players but there is plenty of depth
here as the player that is projected to get drafted 35th is rated as
high as someone projected to go 15th. With that, there are still
some risky players in the draft. Here are some players to keep an eye on as
being potential busts.

Monday, June 24, 2013

1.) St Louis Cardinals (47-29) – The
Cardinals had a tough end to the week being swept at home by the
Rangers, but they still have the best record in baseball. Their lead
in the NL Central however has been trimmed to just one game.

2.) Pittsburgh Pirates (46-30) – The
Pirates are coming on strong, as they split a four- game series on
the road against the Reds, and then went out to the West Coast and
swept the Angels. Pedro Alvarez is is having a great month of June
with nine homeruns, and has 19 now on the season.

3.) Texas Rangers (44-32) – Texas
after hitting a rough patch the last few weeks seem to be back on
track, as they are now on a five-game winning streak, and are back on
top of the AL West. Getting Ian Kinsler back in the lineup was much
needed, as he hit .407 in the last seven days.

On the always fun Old Timers Day in the
Bronx, the New York Yankees were unable to get the win against the
Tampa Bay Rays with so many Yankee greats in attendance. The 3-1 loss
moves the Yankees to (41-34), which is still 2.5 games behind the AL
leading Boston Red Sox.

Ivan Nova made his return to the
Yankees, but despite pitching much better than he had, he picked up
the loss which was his second of the year. Nova looked shaky early,
as the Rays go on the board quickly in the first with a Ben Zobrist
base hit that scored Matt Joyce. Nova would calm down and pitch
extremely well until hitting back to back batters in the seventh
inning with two outs. Shawn Kelley would come in for Nova, but he
walked Evan Longoria to load the bases, and with a lefty in James
Loney up Joe Girardi quickly pulled Kelley for Boone Logan. Loney
would get the best of Logan however with a two out two run single,
which ended up being all the Rays would need for the win.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

The newest edition of the Week in Review with Kenny (@teapester725) and Nick (@ziggy26x) on the Bob Sullivan Show (@BobSullivanShow) is hot off the presses. Everyone's favorite radio tandem, A.K.A. The Best Looking Radio Show are back at it to discuss the happenings in sports this week. They touch on the Aaron Hernandez case and give the newest updates available. After they get into the NBA talking about the season coming to an end and the Miami Heat winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the second consecutive season. The NBA talk does not end there as the duo discuss the NBA Draft coming up later this week on Thursday night. Finally they discuss the happenings in baseball this week as one team is on a franchise winning streak and things are looking like polar opposites for some MLB cities. Follow the link below to listen in to the whole show!

The New York Yankees were able to win
their second straight game against the Tampa Bay Rays, this time in
come from behind fashion to ensure at worst a split in the four-game
series. The win moves the Yankees to (41-33), which is three games
behind the Red Sox for first place.

C.C. Sabathia's woes against the Rays
continued on Saturday afternoon, but with a lot of run support,
Sabathia was able to notch his eighth victory of the season. Evan
Longoria got the Rays on the board in the second inning off of
Sabathia, which was Longoria's 17th of the season, and
third of the series. The big hit off Sabathia came in the sixth
inning, as rookie Wil Meyers hit a Grand Slam off of Sabathia, which
made it a 5-3 game, and was Meyers' first home run since being called
up. Sabathia finished going seven innings allowing five runs on six
hits, and two walks.